Oregon Contractor License Requirements
Oregon licenses the contractor through one board. The Construction Contractors Board (CCB) issues a single license (ORS ch. 701) scoped by an endorsement chosen by structure class — residential, small commercial or large commercial — with residential general/specialty/limited and commercial level 1 and 2 tiers. Each endorsement carries a statutory surety bond and general-liability amount, a Responsible Managing Individual, a 16-hour pre-license training + exam, and a two-year term. Electrical (ORS ch. 479) and plumbing (ORS ch. 447) are separate Building Codes Division contractor licenses layered on top. Every claim below is traced to an official source with a verification date.
01 The Oregon model
Oregon is a single-board, endorsement-tier jurisdiction: one board licenses every compensated contractor, the endorsement is chosen by the structure class being worked on, and the money layer (bond + GL) is a statutory ladder that rises with the tier.
- One CCB license with an endorsement — a person who undertakes, offers to undertake or bids contract work must have a current CCB license and an appropriate endorsement. (Rule OR-CCB-LICENSE.) S-OR-ORS-701-021
- The endorsement follows the structure class — residential work needs a residential endorsement; small commercial work needs a residential or a commercial endorsement; large commercial work needs a commercial endorsement only. (Rule OR-ENDORSEMENT.) S-OR-ORS-701-021
- A real general-contractor definition — a general contractor's operations require more than two unrelated building trades above a board-set sum. (Rule OR-GENERAL-CONTRACTOR.) S-OR-ORS-701-005
- A statutory bond + insurance ladder — from $25,000/$500,000 for a residential general contractor up to $80,000/$2,000,000 for a commercial general level 1. (Rules OR-BOND, OR-INSURANCE.) S-OR-ORS-701-068
- The BCD layers on top — electrical (ORS ch. 479) and plumbing (ORS ch. 447) contracting are separate contractor licenses. (Rules OR-ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR, OR-PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR.) S-OR-ORS-479-630
We publish no local permit fee or municipal business-license amount — no Oregon municipal code was opened, so the local layer is LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED. Commercial key-employee CE detail (ORS 701.086), the full ORS 479.540 electrical exemption list and the exact journeyman-plumber hour totals are NOT_VERIFIED. CONFLICT-OR-002 renders in full below.
02 Who regulates
The single state board that licenses construction contractors under ORS ch. 701. Verbatim (CCB 'CCB License' page, read 2026-10-05): 'Generally, Oregon law requires anyone who works for compensation in any construction activity involving improvements to real property to be licensed.' The license is issued with an ENDORSEMENT (ORS 701.021) chosen by structure class — residential (general, specialty, limited, developer and several limited-scope service endorsements) or commercial (general/specialty level 1 and 2, developer). The CCB's consumer-tools page hosts the official 'Verify a contractor's license' lookup.
https://www.oregon.gov/ccbhttps://www.oregon.gov/ccb/pages/consumer-tools.aspxThe OFFICIAL publisher of the Oregon Revised Statutes. Primary statutory authority: ch. 701 (Construction Contractors and Contracts — CCB licensing), ch. 447 (plumbing) and ch. 479 (electrical). Retrieval limitation (disclosed): oregonlegislature.gov timed out on every request during this research, so the ORS text below was read through the oregon.public.law mirror, which cites the official host and states it is 'Current through early 2026.'
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors701.htmlIssues the contractor and individual licenses for electrical (ORS ch. 479, Electrical and Elevator Board), plumbing (ORS ch. 447, State Plumbing Board), boiler and elevator trades under OAR ch. 918. An electrical contractor license is required to engage in the business of making electrical installations; a Plumbing Business (PB) license requires a Secretary of State business registration, an active CCB license and a full-time signing supervisor (Business Xpress license detail 659, read 2026-10-05).
https://www.oregon.gov/bcdPublishes the Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR). The CCB's licensing rules are OAR ch. 812; the BCD's trade-licensing rules are OAR ch. 918. OAR 812-003-0142 (License Application Fees) was read directly at secure.sos.state.or.us/oard (read 2026-10-05).
https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard03 State vs local
Oregon splits the state contractor credential from the local permit and business licensing; the state licenses the contractor, the locality permits the job:
| Question | State answer | Local answer |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor credential | CCB license + endorsement under ORS ch. 701 (rule OR-CCB-LICENSE). S-OR-ORS-701-021 | Cities and metropolitan service districts may impose their own business licenses (rule OR-LOCAL-LICENSE). S-OR-ORS-701-021 |
| Electrical / plumbing work | a separate BCD contractor license (rules OR-ELECTRICAL-CONTRACTOR, OR-PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR). S-OR-ORS-479-630 | The city/county issues the trade permit and applies its own rules — LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED. |
| Small jobs | exempt only below $1,000 aggregate if casual/minor and not advertised (rule OR-EXEMPTION). S-OR-ORS-701-010 | Local permitting thresholds vary — LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED. |
04 Endorsements and credential families
The 12 classification rows below are the complete STATE credential surface — the CCB endorsements plus the BCD electrical and plumbing contractor licenses:
| Code | Credential | Classification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| RGC | ccb contractor license | Residential General Contractor (RGC) | S-OR-ORS-701-021 |
| RSC | ccb contractor license | Residential Specialty Contractor (RSC) | S-OR-ORS-701-021 |
| RLC | ccb contractor license | Residential Limited Contractor (RLC) | S-OR-ORS-701-038 |
| CG1 | ccb contractor license | Commercial General Contractor, Level 1 (CG1) | S-OR-ORS-701-084 |
| CS1 | ccb contractor license | Commercial Specialty Contractor, Level 1 (CS1) | S-OR-ORS-701-084 |
| CS2 | ccb contractor license | Commercial Specialty Contractor, Level 2 (CS2) | S-OR-ORS-701-084 |
| ELEC-CONTRACTOR | electrical contractor license | Electrical Contractor | S-OR-ORS-479-630 |
| ELEC-JOURNEYMAN | electrical contractor license | General Journeyman Electrician | S-OR-ORS-479-630 |
| PLUMBING-CONTRACTOR | plumbing contractor license | Plumbing Contractor (Plumbing Business) | S-OR-ORS-447-040 |
| RESTRICTED-ENERGY-CONTRACTOR | restricted energy contractor license | Restricted Energy Contractor | S-OR-ORS-479-630 |
| CG2 | ccb contractor license | Commercial General Contractor, Level 2 (CG2) | S-OR-ORS-701-084 |
| DEVELOPER | ccb contractor license | Residential or Commercial Developer | S-OR-ORS-701-091 |
05 Structure classes and the residential-limited caps
- General contractor = more than two unrelated trades (rule OR-GENERAL-CONTRACTOR). S-OR-ORS-701-005
- Residential limited contractor may not exceed $40,000 gross annual volume or enter contracts above $5,000 (rule OR-RLC-LIMITS). S-OR-ORS-701-038
- Applicant conditions — a Responsible Managing Individual (rule OR-RMI) and 16 hours of pre-license training plus the Oregon exam (rule OR-TRAINING-EXAM). S-OR-ORS-701-091 S-OR-CCB-PRELICENSE
06 Bond & insurance
| Endorsement | Surety bond | General liability | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential general contractor | $25,000 | $500,000 | S-OR-ORS-701-081 |
| Residential specialty contractor | $20,000 | $300,000 | S-OR-ORS-701-081 |
| Residential limited contractor | $15,000 | $100,000 | S-OR-ORS-701-081 |
| Commercial general level 1 | $80,000 | $2,000,000 | S-OR-ORS-701-084 |
| Commercial specialty level 1 | $55,000 | $1,000,000 | S-OR-ORS-701-084 |
- A dual licensee files both bonds — a residential + commercial licensee must file a residential and a commercial surety bond (ORS 701.068(2)). (Rule OR-BOND.) S-OR-ORS-701-068
- Workers' compensation is required if the business has employees and is mandatory for commercial contractors (rule OR-WORKERS-COMP). S-OR-CCB-WORKERS-COMP
- The commercial level-1 GL basis is disputed — ORS 701.084 says "not less than $2 million" while the CCB page says "$2,000,000 aggregate" (CONFLICT-OR-002). (Rule OR-INSURANCE.) S-OR-ORS-701-073
07 Fees
| Fee | Amount | Kind | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CCB contractor license application fee (new license) | $400 | application | S-OR-OAR-812-003-0142 |
| CCB contractor license renewal fee (every two years) | $400 | renewal | S-OR-OAR-812-003-0142 |
| Oregon contractor exam fee (paid to the testing provider, PSI) | $60 | miscellaneous | S-OR-CCB-FORMS-FEES |
| CCB license endorsement change | $20 | miscellaneous | S-OR-CCB-FORMS-FEES |
| CCB license inactivation | $20 | miscellaneous | S-OR-CCB-FORMS-FEES |
| CCB license reactivation | $20 | miscellaneous | S-OR-CCB-FORMS-FEES |
| Electrical contractor license | $125 | license | S-OR-ORS-479-840 |
| General journeyman electrician license (three-year) | $100 | license | S-OR-ORS-479-840 |
| General supervising electrician license (three-year) | $100 | license | S-OR-ORS-479-840 |
| Limited electrical licenses (limited elevator / sign / stage / building maintenance, three-year) | $50 | license | S-OR-ORS-479-840 |
| Plumbing Business (PB) license | $150 | license | S-OR-BCD-LIC-659 |
| Home Energy Assessor (HEA) certification application | $100 | certification | S-OR-CCB-FORMS-FEES |
| Home Inspector (OCHI) certification application | $150 | certification | S-OR-CCB-FORMS-FEES |
08 Renewal and continuing education
- Two-year term — a CCB license is valid for two years; a lapsed license may be renewed within two years; inactive status is allowed at most once per term. (Rule OR-RENEWAL.) S-OR-ORS-701-063
- Residential CE — 8 hours per two-year period (3 laws/regulations/ business practices + 5 approved electives). (Rule OR-CE.) S-OR-ORS-701-082
09 Penalties, absences and specialty items
- Unlicensed contracting is a Class A misdemeanor, with a civil penalty up to $5,000 per offense. (Rule OR-PENALTY.) S-OR-ORS-701-990
- No standalone solar license — a photovoltaic installation is electrical work under the BCD electrical-trade family. (Rule OR-SOLAR-CREDENTIAL.) S-OR-ORS-479-630
10 Official lookup
Before hiring, check the official lookups — linked, not mirrored, so the status vocabulary is whatever the agency publishes:
- Oregon Construction Contractors Board (CCB) — https://www.oregon.gov/ccb/pages/consumer-tools.aspx
- The CCB's consumer-tools page hosts the official "Verify a contractor's license" search; the BCD publishes electrical and plumbing license-holder searches.
11 Project examples
12 Sources
Blue badge = official source with a retrieval/verification date. The ORS sections were read through the oregon.public.law mirror because oregonlegislature.gov timed out; the oregon.gov CCB pages are client-rendered and were read by browser rendering — both disclosed on the source rows and in the research record.
13 Known conflicts and limitations
resolved_with_method — the statute delegates the amount to the board (ORS 701.238); the current board rule of $400 governs, and no statute contradicts it.
Analysis notes
Preserved because two official sources state a different level of specificity for the same fee.
unresolved — both official sources are published; the statute states a flat minimum while the CCB page qualifies it as aggregate. Rule OR-INSURANCE returns NOT_DETERMINED on the exact basis phrasing.
Analysis notes
Neither side is smoothed over; the difference is a wording gap, not a numeric gap.
- Local permit fees and municipal business licensing — no municipal code was opened; LOCAL_AUTHORITY_REQUIRED.
- Commercial key-employee CE (ORS 701.086), the full electrical exemption list and the exact journeyman-plumber hours — NOT_VERIFIED.
- The commercial level-1 GL basis — CONFLICT-OR-002, unresolved; the rule returns NOT_DETERMINED on the exact aggregate/per-occurrence wording.